Leno-type loom assembly and pile wire therefor



Feb. 14, 1961 R. o. SPARLING 2,971,539

LENO-TYPE LOOM ASSEMBLY AND PILE WIRE THEREFOR Filed Jan. 50, 1959 "7* QE? R r &% i Q Q 8 j a:

m I-%JEMI Q m RS E I I? a I I 1 INVENTOR. fi ROBERT C. SPARLING BY MATTORNEY United States LENO-TYPE LOOM ASSEMBLY AND PILE WIRE THEREFORRobert 0. Sparling. Harmony, RJ. (20 Austin Ave., Greenville, R.I.)

Filed Jan. 30, 1959, Ser. No. 790,116

8 Claims. (Cl. 139-46) The present invention relates to improvements inLeno type looms and more especially to an improved pile wire andimproved loom assembly for use with such pile wires.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pile wirewhich can be readily assembled into position in a loom and held inpreselected relationship therein for highly efiicient formation of pileloops on the ground fabric being woven by the loom.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedLeno-type loom assembly and pile wire therefor wherein the pile wirescan be easily mounted in position on the loom or removed for replacementas desired.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedLeno-type loom assembly wherein the pile wires therefor are anchoredfrom movement relative to the loom and are supported in preselectedrelation to components of the loom so as to avoid interferencetherewith.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedLeno-type loom assembly and pile wire therefor wherein the pile wire isindependent of the harnesses of the loom and wherein the pile loopforming portion of the wire is resilient so as to be distorted when inoperating position so as to allow for free travel of the shuttle.

"provide an improved pile wire member which is comprised of two elementsjoined to form a unit, and where- 'ing one end portion of the pile wireis comprised of a shank formed of thin strip stock adapted to be held ina vertical relationship and from endwise movement, the other end portionof the wire being formed of a simple wire stock integrally joined to thestrip of the shank.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved pilewire member formed of a shank having a slit in the wire adjacent endthereof which opens out at both surfaces thereof for receiving therespective end of the loop forming wire, the wire diameter and shankthickness being such and so blended at their point as to freely permitthe pile forming loops to shed cleanly along the wire and so as to avoidshuttle skips.

Flare formed over an eud portion of my improved pile wire;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail view showing the manner in which asection of wire is joined to a. thin, fiat strip of stock forming theshank of the pile wire; and

Figure 4 is a bottom view of the pile wire portion of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein like numerals applyto like parts throughout, and having reference first to Figure 1, itwill be seen that I have provided an improved pile wire member 10mounted in a Leno-type loom having a frame including front and rearportions 12 and 14, respectively, with a system of harnesses at 16including conventional doup heddles at 18. The pile wire member 10comprises a flat elongated shank 20 substantially rigid in its own planewith an end formation at 22 for anchoring the pile wire member at oneend, the other end of the shank having an elongated flexible wire 24united therewith and extending therefrom with an end portion 26 adaptedto be bent for engagement on the ground fabric 28 being woven by theloom and held against the ground fabric by the pile loops 30 beingformed thereover.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, details of the pile wire member willnow be described. The pile wire shank 20 is formed of fiat resilientstock with a medially disposed, longitudinally extending slit 32 formedtherein, the other edges 34 and 36 of the shank 26 being formed with ataper at 38 and 40 terminating at the slit 32. The slot 32 is of a widthcorresponding with the diameter of the wire 24 and is of a length toreceive a substantial portion of the wire 24 therein. The thickness ofthe stock for the shank 20 is selected so as also to be preferablythinner than the diameter of the .wire 24. The wire 24 is bonded to theshank 20 by brazing, soldering or other suitable methods and then thesurface of the shank 20 is ground or buffed so as to be free fromprojections on the opposite surfaces thereof. The solder or other meansused for binding the Wire 24 to the shank 20 is shown at 42.

The means 22 for anchoring one end of the shank to the frame of theLeno-type loom is provided by the slot .44 opening out at the side edge36 of the shank. The

slot 44 extends from its open end at 46 toward the terminus 48 of theshank for a reason to be described hereinafter.

The Leno-type loom frame portions 12 and 14 can be conventional portionsof the loom as will be obvious. The completed pile fabric passes overthe frame portion 12 and out of the loom onto a roll or other suitablecollection means also as will be understood by one skilled in the art.The end portion 26 of the wire 24 is resiliently offset downwardly andlies in slightly spaced relation to the ground fabric 28, as best shownin Figure 2, the pile loops 30 being formed thereover and holding thewire portion 26 downwardly under tension over the ground fabric 28.Inasmuch as the shank 20 of the pile member is longitudinally held in agenerally horizontal position upwardly offset from the ground fabric 28,the wire 2% is distorted at 50 so as to allow for free travel of theshuttle beneath the whole series of such pile wires.

The shank 20 extends through the system of harnesses 16 and the douphecldles 18 operate in a conventional fashion to pass the pile formingyarn or thread SZ onto opposite sides of the shank 20 so as to form pileloops interlaced with the ground fabric 28 in the fashion shown inFigure 2. The pile loops so formed, of course, pass along the pile wiremember.

The construction of the pile wire is such as to permit the yarn to beshed cleanly and easily and also results in avoidance of shuttle skips.Moreover, the design of the pile wire member is such as to diminish thetendency to wear the reeds. Moreover, the substantially flush loom inany desired fashion. located just rearwardly of the harnesses 16, as isshown "best in Figure 1.

members. .rstantially fixed relationship with respect to the'loom by theslitted cross bar54, the anchor rod '22, the support irods 66 and theengagement of the end portion 26 of the mounting of thewire in the flatend of the shank is such as to prevent-the loop forming yarn frombanking up on the wire such as would be caused by any projection fromthe opposite vertical surfaces of the wire member. Havin'g reference toFigure 1, it will be seen that a rigid cross bar is provided at 54 which"is disposed in an upright relationship transversely of the loom. Thecross bar 54 is fixedly mounted on the frame portion 14 by means of theangle iron at 56 or in any other suitable fashion, as desired. The rigidcross bar 54 is formed with a multiplicity of vertically disposed slits58 which correspond in number to the number of pile wire membersutilized in the loom. The slits '58 extend in a longitudinal directionso as to receive the shank 2t] therethrough to support the latter in avertical relationship longitudinally of the machine. An anchor rod 60 isprovided for engagement in the slots 44 of each of the shanks 20. Theanchor rod 60 is substantially rigidly secured in parallel juxtapositionto the cross bar 54. The means for so supporting the anchor rod 60includes a pair of plates 62 which join the upright cross bar 54 and theangle iron 64 of the frame portion 14 and are secured to the ends of therod 60.

Inasmuch as the slits 58 open out at the top of the cross bar 54 and theslots 44 open out at the bottom *edge of the shanks 20, it will beobvious that the pile wire members can be easily mounted by engaging theshank 20 into a respective slit 5% so that the slots 44 receive theanchor rod 6% therein. During such engagement, the shank will moveforwardly and will {thereby be substantially held from movement in anydirection other than along the axis of the slot t4. "Thus, the forcesexerted on the'pile wire member during weaving of the pile fabric willbe substantially opposed.

Should replacement of any pile wire member be necessary, it is a simpleoperation to remove the single pile wire and replace it with anotherwithout the necessity for removing any of the other pile wire members.

Further means is provided for supporting the individual pile Wires inthe desired relationship within the loom. That means includes a supportrod 66 which extends transversely of the machine and can be fixedlysecured to longitudinal side elements of the frame of the The supportrod 66 is From the foregoing, it will be seen a Leno-type loom canreceive a multiplicity of my improved pile wire The pile wire membersare held in a subwire beneath the loops formed on the ground fabric 28.The flat shank 20 of each pile wire member is held in a selectedvertical'relationship so as to have the doup .hed'dles'pass the loopforming yarn on either side of the shank 20, from which the yarn loopsare easily shed toward the front of the loom.

In view of the foregoing it is believed that I have provided an improvedpile wire member and Leno-type loom assembly which enumerated.

fulfill the objects hereinbetore As this invention may be embodied inseveral forms without departing from the spirit or essential character-.istics thereof, .thepresent embodiment is therefore lllUS- trative andnot restrictive, since the scope of the invention is defined by theappended claims rather than by the description preceding them, and allchanges that fall Within the metes and bounds of the claims or that formi their functional as well, as conjointly cooperative equivl harnessessupported by said frame and having doup heddles carried. thereby, atleast one pile wire member A '7 V l,

comprising a fiat, elongated shank substantially rigid in its own plane,means at one end of said shank for anchoring the same to the loom frame,and the other end of said shank having an elongated normallysubstantially straight, resilient and flexible wire united there withand extending therefrom with an end portion adapted to be offset forretention in slightly spaced relation over the ground fabric being wovenand held in position by the pile .loops being formed thereover, anintermediate portion of said fiat shank being received through arespective doup heddle of the harnesses so as to have the pile threadlooped from side .to side. of the pile wire member.

2. In a Leno-type loom having a .frame, a rigid cross bar anchored tosaid frame and havinglat least one vertical slit therein, a system ofharnesses supported by said frame and having doup heddles carriedthereby, at least one pile wire member comprising a fiat, elongatedshank substantially rigid in its own plane and having one end engagedthrough saidslit so as to be supported in a vertical relationship, meansfixedly anchoring said one end of said shank from movement relative tothe frame, and the other end of said shank having an elongated normallysubstantially straight, resilient and flexible wire united therewith andextending therefrom with an end portion adapted to be oifset forpositioning in slightly spaced relation over the ground fabric beingwoven and held in such position by the pile loops being formedthereover, an intermediate portion of said fiat shank being receivedthrough a respective doup heddle of the harnesses so as tohave the pilethread looped from side to side of the pile wire member.

3. In a Leno-type loom having a frame, a rigid cross bar anchored tosaid frame and having at least one vertical slit therein, a system ofharnesses supportedby said frame and having doup heddles carriedthereby, at

least one pile wire member comprising a ,flat, elongated shanksubstantially rigid in its own plane andhaving one end engaged throughsaid slit so as to be supported in a vertical relationship, meansfixedly anchoring said one end of said shank from movement relative tothe frame, and the other end of said shank having an elongated normallysubstantially straight, resilient and flexible wire united therewith andextending therefrom with an end portion adapted to be offset forpositioning. in slightly spaced relation over the ground fabric beingwoven-and held in such position by the pile loops being formed thereover, an intermediate portion of said flat shank being received througha respective doup heddle of the barncsses so as to have the pile threadlooped from side to side of the pile wire member, and said meansanchoring one end of said shank comprising a rod substantially rigidlysecured in parallel juxtaposition to said'cross bar, and said one end ofsaid shank having a slot opening out at one side edge thereof forreceiving said rod therein.

4. In a Leno-type loom, a frame, a rigid cross bar anchored to saidframe adjacent the rear thereof, said cross bar having a multiplicity ofvertical slits therein, a system of harnesses supported by said frameforwardly of said cross bar and having doup heddles carried thereby,a'support rod rigidly mounted intermediate said harnesses and said crossbar in generally parallel relation to the latter, a multiplicity of pilewire members, at least certain of said pile wire members comprising afiat, elongated shank substantially rigid in its own plane and havingone end engaged through a respective slit-so as to be supported in avertical relationship, means for fixedly anchoring said one end of eachof said certain pile wire members from movement relative to the frame,an intermediate portion of each of said shanks being engaged on saidsupport rod, and the other end of each said shank having an elongated,resilient normally substantially straight wire joined therewith andaxially extending therefrom, said wire being flexible so as to be oifsetinto slightly spaced relation over the ground fabricand held by the pileloops being formed, said intermediate portion of each of said shanksbeing received through a respective doup heddle of the harnesses so asto have the pile thread looped from one side to the other of the pilewire member in forming the pile loops.

5. In a Leno-type loom having a frame, a system of harnesses having doupheddles carried thereby and supported by said frame at a longitudinallymedial portion of the loom, a rigid cross bar transversely anchored tosaid frame adjacent the rearthereof and having a multiplicity ofvertical slits therein, a multiplicity of pile wire members, each ofsaid pile Wire members being of a length extending from about said rigidcross bar to the front of the frame and including a shank and a wire,each said shank being formed of flat stock substantially rigid in itsown plane having one end thereof engaged through a respective slit insaid rigid cross bar so as to be held in a verticalrelationship andhaving the other end thereof engaged through a respective doup heddle ofthe harnesses, means connected with the frame supporting said shanksadjacent the system of harnesses, means at said one end of said shanksfor anchoring the same from end wise movement relative to the frame, andeach said wire being formed of flexible resilient stock with one endfixedly joined to said shank and its other end terminating at the frontof the frame and being adapted to be resiliently oflset into slightlyspaced relation to the ground fabric and held thereon by the pile loopsformed thereover.

6. In a Leno-type loom having a frame, a system of harnesses having doupheddles carried thereby and supported by said frame at a longitudinallymedial portion of the loom, a rigid cross bar transversely anchored tosaid frame adjacent the rear thereof and having a multiplicity ofvertical slits therein, a multiplicity of pile wire members, each ofsaid pile wire members being of a length extending from about said rigidcross bar to the front of the frame and including a shank and a wire,each said shank being formed of fiat stock substantially rigid in itsown plane having one end thereof engaged through a respective slit insaid rigid cross bar so as to be held in a vertical relationship andhaving the other end thereof engaged through a respective doup heddle ofthe harnesses, first means. connected with the frame supporting saidshanks adjacent the system of harnesses, second means at saidone end ofsaid shanks for anchoring the same from endwise movement relative to theframe, each said wire being formed of flexible resilient.

stock with one end fixedly joined to said shank and its otherendterminatingat the front of the frame and being adapted to be offsetinto slightly spaced relation to the ground fabric and held thereon bythe pile loops formed thereover, said first means including a supportrod substantially rigidly mounted in spaced parallel relation to saidcross bar, and said second means including an anchor rod substantiallyrigidly secured in parallel juxtaposition to said cross bar, and saidone end of each of said shanks having a slot opening out at one sideedge thereof for removably receiving said anchor rod therein.

7. A pile wire member comprising a shank of predetermined length havingtop and bottom edges and being formed of a thin, flat strip, one end ofsaid. shank having a slot formation therethrough of a selected widthopen ing out at said bottom edge thereof adapted to receive an anchorrod therein of a diameter corresponding to said selected Width, theinner end of said slot formation being disposed closer to the terminusof said one end of the shank than the open end thereof so that theanchor rod-receiving inner end is completely longitudinally offset fromthe open end, the opposing end of said shank having an axially extendingslit opening out on opposite surfaces thereof and at the terminus ofsaid opposing end, and an elongated resilient wire received in said slitand permanently joined to said shank.

8. A pile wire member comprising a shank of pre determined length havingtop and bottom edges and being formed of a thin, fiat strip, one end ofsaid shank having a slot formation therethrough of a selected widthopening out at said bottom edge thereof adapted to receive an anchor rodtherein of a diameter corresponding to said selected width, the innerend of said slot formation being disposed closer to the terminus of saidone end of the shank than the open end thereof so that the anchorrod-receiving inner end is completely longitudinally ofiset from theopen end, the opposing end of said shank having an axially extendingslit opening out on opposite surfaces thereof and at the terminus ofsaid opposing end, and an elongated resilient wire of a diameterslightly greater than the thickness of said shank received in said slit,and means permanently joining said wire to said shank filling theremaining space between said wire and the shank within said slit so asto be substantially free of projections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS489,731 Coley Jan. 10, 1893 873.448 Mitchell et al Dec. 10, 19071,992,862 Erkes Feb. 26, 1935 2,043,165 Hall June 2, 1936 2,497,716Bloch et al. Feb. 14, 1950

